Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Why, Hello There

You're probably wondering why I haven't written much lately.  Simple:  I've been writing.

November is National Novel Writing Month, and I've decided to take up the challenge:  Write a 50,000 word first draft -- in 30 days.  I did it last year and, despite having just moved to Edmonton, I managed to complete the task.  And I was left with something that might become something decent, if I edit it. 

This time around, it's much more difficult -- for a lot of reasons.  Mostly, I'm creating everything from scratch -- characters, location, plot, dialogue.  Last year, I based my story and characters on the year I spent in Guatemala.  This time, I'm not so lucky. 

As I write this, I'm more than half-way.  30,000 words down.  20,000 to go.  I'll be glad when it's finished.

At the same time, I've been working on building websites and working as a freelance SEO guru -- all while adjusting to this new life in Southern Mexico.

All-in-all, the first six weeks have been good, but I find it a bit of a quiet life.  There isn't a big ex-pat community here and not speaking much Spanish doesn't help.  So I spend most days hunched over my laptop, save the hour or so a day I go walking.

I used to wonder what could possibly be wrong with living in San Cristobal.  Now I know the answer:  It's lonely.

However, Guatemala is less than a day down the road. I think I'll try and catch a ride back to Lake Atitlan before the end of the month.  Belize is also close by, but requires some long bus rides to get there.  Lots of time for that. 

And then there's Canada.  My quest for a reasonably priced ticket to the land of snow for Christmas is not going very well.  The hunt continues.

And so it goes...

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